1998 Nissan Frontier - Got Wood?

One Fresh Nissan Frontier

During the winter of 1998, Ryan Gibson decided to start a new project. The '85 Nissan 720 truck he'd been messing with for the previous four years had been perfect for expanding his knowledge base of customs. Now, Ryan wanted to make a bigger statement with a much newer truck. To do this, he went out and purchased a brand-spankin'-new '98 Nissan Frontier standard-cab pickup he swore would become something special.

Over the next four years, Ryan completely revamped his truck from the ground up, making it into something truly extraordinary. He lowered the truck before anyone even had a chance to lay eyes on it. Since this was his first brand-new truck, to say his mom was upset when he immediately began the modifications would be an understatement. His original plan had been to finish the Nissan 720, but that soon went out the window as he fell in love with the Frontier. After driving the Frontier for six solid months, Ryan 'bagged it with the help of Sean Ornduff. He then spent the next year driving the truck in stock trim to various shows and found a few photos in the pages of Mini Truckin', which only made him want to do more to make the Frontier truly stand above the rest.

After driving the relatively stock but 'bagged truck for 12 months, Ryan and Sean dove in again to body-drop the Nissan 3-1/2 inches. Chaotic Customs in Tomball, Texas, then began the shaving process, starting with the door handles. Mark Fehrle helped out with the sheetmetal fabrication as the truck began to look far different than a typical Frontier. Even the bed floor was completely reworked for a much cleaner appearance. This was especially important since the bed floor had been raised during the body-drop session with Sean Ornduff a year earlier. Once everyone had finished with their part of the external modifications, Kaotic sprayed the Frontier's new basecoat using Lexus Burnt Orange. The new color was brighter and more orange than the factory tint, making the color change simple. The original plan had been to spray the truck with House of Kolor's Tangelo Pearl while it was still in the shop. After the dash was smoothed and painted, however, Ryan had a huge change of heart and promptly ripped the dash back out. He had other plans that just couldn't wait.

Ryan worked his ass off while the truck was in full swing to make his interior look its best. He smoothed the dash, built new lower door panel sections, and set up his system to give professional-sounding results in a very tight space. Using components from Kicker, Clarion, Infinity, and MTX, Ryan put together a tight stereo system that looks as good as it sounds and performs beyond anyone's expectations of a standard-cab pickup. The original bench seat was tossed in favor of a pair of Mazda Miata seats, which were reupholstered without headrests using tan and brown-embossed snake-print leather. Although the interior was complete, Ryan had other things to accomplish before taking his newly changed-up truck to its first event.

The new flooring in the bed of the truck was treated to a spray-in bedliner, which was tinted with the same Lexus Burnt Orange basecoat to keep it looking its best regardless of how it would be used. Inside the bed, a 120-pound nitrogen bottle was installed across the bulkhead, with 3/8-inch copper lines plumbed from the suspension to the valves. Additionally, the fuel filler had been relocated to the passenger-side wheeltub. With the bed detailed and put back on, the truck was finally finished to the point it's at today, and Ryan headed to his first show with the new-styled Frontier in Greenville, Mississippi. There, he not only debuted the truck, but won Third Place in his class and the Mini Truckin' Editor's Choice award, and wrote his own chapter in Mini Truckin' history by earning his own cover feature.

So what's next for the Frontier? When we called Ryan and asked him, he had this to say: "Man, I'm looking for something older to build that can easily pass emissions, but that's even up in the air. I may buy my old 720 back since they're not doing much with it right now. My brother's keeping me more than occupied by helping him work on his Chevy." At only 23 years of age, we wonder what Ryan will come up with next. Only time will tell.

Owner's Quote "I'd like to show my appreciation to all my friends that helped me out. I assisted in the majority of the work, but it would not have been possible without them. My goal was to make the truck as practical and driveable as possible so I could enjoy it anytime. I also wanted a paint scheme that wouldn't go out of style anytime soon. I'd like to refer to MT's Construction Zone special that had Mike White's Dawgsled Mazda on the cover. My Frontier had a full page in the Zone special section."